Custer chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, Black Hills, D.T. [S.D.]) 1880-1890, 1887-07-23

thousand two hundred a year. Half OF
that income | have secured to you for life,
conting intly on your undertaking the
guardianship-that is, one Thousand a year
remuneration to yourself, for you will have
to give up your life to it, and one hundred
n year to pay for the board of the boy.
The rest is to accumulate till Leo is TWEEN
ty-five, SO hat there may be a sum in hand
should he wish to undertake the quest Of
which | spoke"
And suppose | were to die?" & asked.
"Then the boy must become a ward Of
Chancery and take his chance. Only be
careful that the iron chest is passed on to
him by your will. Listen, Holly, don't re-
fuse me. Believe me, this is to your adj
vantage. You are not fit TO mix with the
world-it would only imbitter you. In a
few weeks you will become q fellow of
your college, and the income hat you will
derive from that, combined with what |
have left you, will enable you TO live a life
of learned leisure, %alternated with the
sport Of which you are 50 fond, such as will
exactly suit you"
lie paused, and looked at me anxiously,
but | still hesitated. The charge seemed
SO very strange.
For my sake, Holly. We have boen
good friends, and | have no time to make
other arrangements"
Every VOL, " | said, II will do it, pro
vided there is nothing in this paper to
make me change my mind" and touched
the envelope he had put upon the table by
the keys.
Thank you, Holly, thank you. There
is nothing at all. Swear to ne by God
that you will be a father to tho boy, and
follow my directions to the letter.
Il swear it," i answered. solemnly.
every well; remember that perhaps one
day / shall ask for the account of your
oath, for though am dead and forgotten,
yet shall | live. There is no such thing as
death, Holly, only a change; and as you
may perhaps learn in time to come, | be-
lieye that even here that change could UNI
der certain circumstances be indefinitely
postponed and here again he broke into
one of his dreadful fits of coughing.
"There," he said, 81 must go. You have
the chest, and my will will be found among
nv papers, under the authority of which
the child will be handed over 10 you. You
will be well paid, Holly, and | know that
YOU are honest; but if you betray my trust,
by Heaven | will haunt youv"
/ said nothing, being indeed too Devil
dered to speak.
He held up the candle, n looked at his
own face in the glass. 1t had been a beau.
tiful face, but disease had wrecked it.
GOOD for the worms" he said. Curious
to think that in a few hours | shal be stiff
and cold-the journey done, the little game
played out. All me, Holly! life Is not
worth the trouble OF life, except when one
is in love-at least mine has not been; but
the boy Leo's may be if he has the courage
and the faith. Goodbye, my friend!' and
with q sudden access Of tenderness he nung
his arm about me and kissed me on the
forehead, and then turned 10 20.
"Look here, Vincey," | said, IF you nre
as i'll as you think, you had better let me
fetch a doctor"
mo, no." he said earnestly. "Promise
me that you won't. / am going ITO die, anu,
like a poisoned rat, l wish TO die alone"
II don't believe that You are going 10 90
anything of the Sort" | answered. he
smiled. and with the word Remember
on his lips, was gone AS for myself, sat
down and rubbed my eyes, wondering IL /
had been asleep. AS this supposltloU
would not bear investigation, / gave IL up,
and began to think that Vincey must nave
been drinking. knew that he was, anu
had been, very i'll, but still it seemed I'M
possible that he could be in such a cohol-
ton as to be abb TO know for certain thaV
he would not o live the night; Haa ne
been SO near dissolution, surely he woulu
scarcely have been able to walk ana carry